Australia's Houses Awards, as the name might suggest, is an annual award program that showcases the best new builds in the realm of residential architecture. The 2018 edition has seen a spectacular cave-like home built into a rock shelf claim top honors, while a host of smaller dwellings, gardens and extensions were also celebrated for their ingenuity and charm.
The Houses Awards are held by Houses magazine, an Australian publication dedicated to, well, houses. Entries are assessed by a jury of architects and designers and are sorted into nine different categories, with the very best of the bunch earning the coveted Australian House of the Year Award.
The Cabbage Tree House by Peter Stutchbury Architects took out the category for best New House Over 200 square meters (2,100 sq ft), in addition to the top gong. It is a magnificent multi-level home set into the hills of northern Sydney, anchored into the rocky landscape.
This theme continues indoors where the interior has been crafted to resemble the cavernous landscape, with large windows and doors opening to ample outdoor spaces and offering plenty of opportunity to take in the surroundings.
Another interesting winner from the event is the Hole in the Roof House, in Bronte, New South Wales, which took out the award for House Alteration and Addition Under 200 Square Meters. Designed by Rachel Neeson and Stephen Neille, this suburban bungalow has a section cut out of its roof to allow a frangipani tree to poke out of the top from a courtyard below.
Among the other winners are a flexible micro-apartment that uses a sliding timber screen to change the functionality of the space, a worker's cottage turned into a luscious "Terrarium House" in sub-tropical Queensland and sustainable apartment complex in Melbourne.
To see these beautiful homes from all angles, have a flick through the gallery.
Source: Houses Awards